Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Protests at campaign events are as old as American democracy, but they have taken a dim turn this presidential season at the massive events staged by Trump. Supporters of the Republican frontrunner were caught spitting on Hispanic protesters at an event in Richmond, Virginia. At an event before the U.S. Capitol in September, one supporter was caught on video pulling the hair of a young woman who tried to shout down Trump. Outside Trump’s New York headquarters, Trump’s personal bodyguard was videotaped ripping a sign from the hands of a protester on the public sidewalk. When the protester tried to grab it back, he punched the protester in the face. A lawsuit has been filed.

The protest Trump movement shows no signs of abating, nor do the angry responses in Trump’s crowds. A group of influential Republican Latino activists met Tuesday in Colorado and blasted Trump, threatening to withhold their support in the general election if other GOP candidates embrace his rhetoric. And on Wednesday, the day of the debate, thousands of Latino leaders and over 60 organizations will protest Trump in Boulder near the debate event hall.

“[The protest] will remind these same politicians that immigrants, their loved ones, and their allies are voters and are ready to demonstrate their political power,” said Federico Peña, former Denver mayor and a Cabinet member to President Bill Clinton, who will lead the rally, according to the Denver Post. Former Colorado U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who served in President Obama’s first-term Cabinet, will also speak at the event.

Aware of the increasing confrontations, the Trump campaign has been taking steps in recent weeks to dial down the vitriol. “The campaign does not condone violence of any kind,” says campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks. And the candidate has continued to maintain his trademark swagger. “I am going to win with Hispanics,” he claimed to loud cheers from the crowd in Miami, after the protesters had been cleared. (That would be a tough turnaround, since a recent Washington Post/ABC news poll shows 82% of Hispanics view him unfavorably.)

Meanwhile, a national network of immigrant rights groups have taken to organizing regular protests at Trump events, sometimes coordinating in advance with training on non-violence and how to react to the crowds. “We made reference to what the civil rights workers and students had to go through,” explained Florida Immigrant Coalition leader Maria Rodriguez, who organized training for the Miami disruption. “It’s not like we’re even going to change the mind of his followers, perhaps. But we have to inspire a sense of defense of dignity among all of us.”

Hopefully this is a bad as it gets. But when you combine the anger and paranoia of the gun-proliferation activists with the anti-immigrant activists and legitimize the kind of degrading rhetoric that comes from Trump and his supporters by making him the Republican Party's frontrunner for president, you have a combustible situation.

Let's hope they keep a lid on anything more violent than what we've seen.